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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456840">Yamaguchi's disciple</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillaJoba/pseuds/LillaJoba'>LillaJoba</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First years are second years, Gen, He's also a dork and entertaining to write, Slice of Life, Suga is a schemer, They're all just cute and precious though, just fluff and fluffy basically, please read the notes, this is very soft, we all know this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:34:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456840</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LillaJoba/pseuds/LillaJoba</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the 3rd years leave and the first and second years move up, Karasuno welcomes some new rookies to their team.</p><p>Once everyone settles in, and new practice games are being set, a familiar face pays the team a visit to see how everyone is doing.</p><p>Only to see a first year clearly needing some help from Yamaguchi.</p><p>(Pretty much Suga being devious, scheming, and just trying to help out these awkward children.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Yamaguchi's disciple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The reason I said read the note is because of this:<br/>This does not contain spoilers for the manga, it's fine to read for anyone. However, there are very, very, very minor Easter eggs. No one who hasn't read the manga will notice, I'm not sure anyone will, but it's just so you know. Also, just in case people wanna chat with me or anything, I am caught up on it, week to week, and I started writing this around 365 so...it took me way too long to do it. You can message me on Tumblr if you want to! ( https://cannot-decide-on-a-fandom.tumblr.com/ )</p><p>Anyway, I always loved the idea of Yamaguchi teaching a younger kid to do a float serve, and he and Suga are my 2 favourite characters, so this was fun</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been a few weeks since the graduation ceremony, 1 month into the new school year, and Karasuno was getting both settled as well as rowdy once again. It’s a weird thing how having more new people joining that year didn’t immediately bring the noise level up much, but rather it just meant that the more shy members had more people to be nervous around.</p><p>Though that didn’t last long around Hinata, who basically doesn’t know the meaning of the word “awkward” or, at least as Tsukishima put it before being given a strong glare by everyone there, the meaning of the words “unwanted company”. After a couple months have passed, all the new first years had managed to get mostly settled in, even the more quiet ones, and the absence of their previous captain's firm hand, their vice's mix of joking and encouragement, their ace's power no matter how it contrasted with his personality, or their manager’s silent support became less and less imposing.</p><p>They had a new captain, a new ace, Yachi had taken over as permanent manager, and things were flowing easier as the new group adjusted to every player in their midst.</p><p>“Kageyama, do you think there’s any chance of one of the first years replacing you?”</p><p>“What? What are you on about?”</p><p>“You can’t be the only genius setter, can you?”</p><p>Kageyama frowned. Well, he was always frowning according to Hinata, so this is the one he labelled his “scary frown”</p><p>“If someone were to try and take my spot I wouldn’t let it up without a fight.”</p><p>He simply shrugged. “It's always annoying seeing you on the bench anyway. You distract everyone with your face.”</p><p>“Just shut up, you runt! It’s yourself you should be worrying about. Your receives may have improved, but your blocks are all way too low!”</p><p>“Well I can’t help that, can I?”</p><p>There’s a reason why Ennoshita tries to avoid giving the 2 of them net set up duty at once, it takes like half an hour for the net to simply be unfolded with them bickering usually. And then of course everyone stops to watch the show.</p><p>“Alright, who bet 5 minutes into practice today?” Tsukishima said with a glint in his eye, partway between amusement and irritation.</p><p>“They seem to get along better than the start of last year at least.”</p><p>“Who started it this time anyway?”</p><p>Chikara just sighed and was partway for like the 463rd time to calling Daichi and praising him for dealing with a more extreme version of this all year.</p><p>“Hinata, Kageyama, one of you go get the ball bin, I’ll help get the net ready."</p><p>Ennoshita smiled as they separated, turning to face Kei who was busy smirking at the now split up duo. With so many people around, cleanup was more of a chore than preparation, so many members just ended up with not much to do at the start of a day. Yamaguchi was checking to see if the bottles they had were all filled up, but for the most part, the 2 of them got it rather easy that day.</p><p>“You know, Tsukishima, I can tell your comments are less malicious than before. It’s more friendly towards them if anything. Though I’d still suggest keeping an eye on Kageyama when you say that type of thing. Hinata doesn’t hold grudges, but it wouldn’t be good if our setter was overly riled up.”</p><p>Well, seasons change, but as it turns out people really do stay the same. Mostly.</p><p>There was really only one thing that did fully remain that way, however. Their coach.</p><p>For someone supposedly only meaning to coach until a specific practice, he sure had an interesting way of executing that.</p><p>“Alright, everyone, gather round. we’ll start warmups in a minute.”</p><p>The youngest in the class followed that silently, but anyone from either other years was excitedly awaiting what was coming. They hadn’t had any practice games with other schools that year yet.</p><p>They had one set up, but it was still a little while, and as much as they had a solid enough lineup for tournaments, it was really putting them at a disadvantage. Now that Ushijima wasn’t in the running anymore, every other team was busy setting up games, a little more optimistic without the prefectures super ace present, and it was rather first come first serve. Thankfully, after nationals, Karasuno did have some requests to practice with them as well, but with the way half the upperclassman were obsessed with the sport, everyone pretty much figured they’d prefer 5 games a day over none.</p><p>“Coach, did Takeda-sensei manage to set something up?”</p><p>“You kids realise he’s actually a teacher as well, not just your advisor? Well, he does have a couple things that just need smoothing out, but,” he smiled,  "I have some people who asked to come here for today. You second and third years have already met them, of course, but teenagers rarely play adult teams, so it might even be interesting to make this an annual thing.”</p><p>Almost everyone on the team reacted with realisation at that before he even said anything else.</p><p>"What is it?” One of the first years asked, confused at the mix of reactions among the older students.</p><p>"I don’t know.” Kageyama said, about as confused as the underclassman, before Yamaguchi leaned over to explain.</p><p>He didn’t have time though as the doors opened again and a fuller team than they had last time walked into the gym with a greeting. At that, Kageyama’s eyes filled with understanding as well as they lined up in front of them. None of the students recognised all of them, some probably those who couldn’t make it last time, but everyone regarded them with respect.</p><p>"Sorry Keishin, are we late?”</p><p>"No you’re just in time.” Ukai said before turning back round to the team. "First years, meet the neighbourhood association. We had a game with them last year, but it’s always useful to play games with people with more experience. They suggested another match and I thought it was a good idea.”</p><p>Once everyone introduced themselves, the atmosphere around the gym changed. Every time they played a match, things became more intense, and excited, mixed in a weird amalgamation that didn’t leave their kouhai time to be nervous, but simply made them confused. Yamaguchi separated from the group a little bit to say hi to Shimada as Ukai, once again yelled over the bustle.</p><p>"Alright if we’re done with greetings, we can-"</p><p>"Um, Keishin, there is actually someone else who is here. He was actually the person who asked us to set up this match.”</p><p>"Hm? Who? Isn’t the whole team here today?”</p><p>“Well, that’s not exactly...”</p><p>The door slid open one more time, drawing the attention of everyone in the gym once again. It wasn’t the warmest day of the year and definitely too cold for the wind to hit you in shorts, but nobody focused on that as a familiar face smiled at them from the doorway.</p><p>“Sorry, did I miss my cue to come in? I thought it would be more dramatic to wait a bit.”</p><p>“….”</p><p>“SUGA-SAN?”</p><p>The question didn’t need nor receive an answer aside from a laugh and a wave at everyone, half of whom were still staring in confusion, the other half running up to him. Tanaka and Noya, ever turbulent, were in front of him the fastest, Suga greeting Tanaka with a hand to his head and a more comforting glance towards Nishinoya.</p><p>“Sugawara, what are you doing here?” Ukai questioned, just as in shock as his team. “I thought you’d be at university?”</p><p>“I can take a couple days off, and I promised my family I’d come back once I settled in to fill them in on some things. So why not come check out what kind of new recruits the team has?” He grinned before setting his eyes on his old team. “Ennoshita, how’re you handling everything?”</p><p>The boy smiled. This is actually a nice change back to former familiarity. “It’s fine.”</p><p>“You sure? Do you need me to help with some of the more troublesome ones? Speaking of, where’s Hinata and Kageyama?”</p><p>“We’re here!”</p><p>“…troublesome?”</p><p>“Ah, you 2!” He walked over, slapping both of them on the shoulders. “Kageyama, you’re the team’s most senior setter now, are you helping support everyone?”</p><p>“Uh…I’m trying.”</p><p>“Good, good. I’m not there to save you in a cinch anymore you know.”</p><p>“Sugawara-san, how long are you staying?!”</p><p>“Well, if it’s okay, I’m here tomorrow as well, so I can come help all of you then too.”</p><p>By this point, the entirety of the underclassmen were staring in a mix of intrigue and befuddlement.</p><p>This…was simply not what they expected from a uni student. At 15, everyone even a few years older than themselves always just seems like they’d be so mature and whatever.</p><p>But there was a 19 year old in front of them, practically punching his old teammates.</p><p>“Are Sawamura-san or Azumane-san coming too?”</p><p>“Mmm, I don’t exactly know what Asahi is doing right now. I did ask Daichi knowing he’s in uni too, but he said he had to study to make sure he doesn’t end up behind.”</p><p>“As you should be too.” Ukai scorned lightly.</p><p>“It’s okay. Daichi just thinks he needs to be more responsible now he’s not in high school. It will probably last about a week before he’s sick of nonstop working. Anyway,” he placed his hands on his hip, looking out over the first years, “I’m Sugawara Koushi. Nice to meet all of you.”</p>
<hr/><p>When everyone had calmed down and got their attention back on track, the game was just about ready to begin. With so many people in the gym and so many mixes of styles needing to be practiced, they decided to try and fit in 4 sets, swapping players and mixing everyone up each time. Both the neighbourhood association and Karasuno only had one experienced setter among them, so Suga would be a fluid player, joining whichever team needed him as the game went down.</p><p>While Hinata and Suga had very different impacts on any team they were a part of, one thing that was the same was their ability to help everyone feel comfortable. There was simply no place for awkwardness around Hinata, and no need for it around Suga. It was actually rather refreshing for him to not be working for the sake of a competition. It allowed him to play and have fun, while also helping anyone who needed it. There was no question over whether he missed the school. Of course he did. But letting go had some perks too.</p><p>“Sugawara, you’re in next set for the neighbourhood team.”</p><p>“Oh!” He had gotten so absorbed in watching he almost forgot he was playing too. “Yes coach!”</p><p>The set was over faster than anyone had expected. Karasuno was by no means bad, they had some pretty good rookies this year too, but they were still out of sync for a tournament. Thankfully, practice matches are meant just for that.</p><p>Suga swiftly made his way onto the court. It was weird. Last time he was just standing in. And while technically it was the same that time too, it felt almost like he had joined a different team this time. He wasn’t delusional or anything, he was always aware he wasn’t a high schooler anymore, but it still felt odd. Was this how Ukai felt returning after graduating?</p><p>Oh that’s right. He was a setter too</p><p>The whistle blew and with a smile he dropped his train of thought and let his body revisit the movements he had missed over the last little while. Unlike some other people, he wasn’t only interested in volleyball. He loved it, it always felt daunting and exhilarating setting up an attack, spiking, even blocking which he was by no means ideal for. But it wasn’t his entire life. That didn’t mean he didn’t miss the feeling of knowing the set he just put up scored a point.</p><p>“Well done.”</p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p>Yeah, this was nice.</p><p>The next point was taken by Karasuno, but the rotation following it brought a first year who looked like he was trying not to panic with his eyes downcast in the position to serve.</p><p>As Yamaguchi swapped out for Nishinoya, it was only then that his eyes wandered from the wooden tiles and briefly followed the movement.</p><p>
  <em>...hm.</em>
</p><p>The boy barely seemed to hear the whistle, his reactions limited to his eyes drifting. It took about 5 seconds for him to start his serve, tossing the ball up ahead of him, the sun from the window catching it’s movement in mid air and casting a shadow on the court, as he jumped, and hit the ball into the net.</p><p>Nobody blamed him of course. Almost every person in that room has done that at one point on the team or another. That didn’t stop a soft apology leaving his lips and his gaze sweeping over towards the bench again.</p><p>It was only Suga’s smile that indicated his understanding.</p><p>
  <em>Ah. I see.</em>
</p><p>This was going to be interesting.</p>
<hr/><p>Once the matches were over, Sugawara took the opportunity to approach the young boy who still looked overly downtrodden after his faulty serve. He knew the feeling. Mistakes always hurt, even if it wasn’t during an official. Even though nobody judged, or viewed anyone as less than before due to simple mistakes, everyone was more critical if themselves. Nobody else had the tune, energy, or mind to be hateful or cruel to someone for messing up, but it never seemed to translate well to the person themself.</p><p>“Hi.” He said with a smile, startling the boy. In fairness, he probably shouldn’t have said it from behind him.</p><p>“Oh, hello Sugawara-san.”</p><p>Another good thing about leaving high school was nobody technically complain if he wasn’t the fastest cleaning up. It helped, since he was just standing there, having a casual chat.</p><p>“Well done for today.”</p><p>“Umm, thank you.” He did sound rather unsure.</p><p>“What’s your name?”</p><p>“Oh! Fukao. Taiki.”</p><p>No one could ever honestly say Koushi didn’t have a comforting presence. It was a skill to be able to match the energy of whoever he was talking to. It wasn’t always utilised, frankly doing so with Tanaka would have probably just riled him up more, but he knew when to. It was one thing to joke and mess around, it was another to completely misread the room. He wasn’t planning to do that.</p><p>“You know, Kageyama still annoys me in a way.”</p><p>“Really?” Honest surprise, it seems. “You don’t seem mad at him or anything.”</p><p>“Oh, no, I’m not mad. He didn’t do anything wrong. But you know, it’s sometimes difficult to need to ask for advice, especially from someone 2 years younger than you.”</p><p>There was always that. Just a fundamental gap between them. It wasn’t that Suga didn’t work hard, or that he didn’t try. But he wasn’t a prodigy. And as much as he loved volleyball, he knew Kageyama would always aim to pursue it as a career or at least get a sports scholarship somewhere. He wouldn’t.</p><p>"He is very talented.”</p><p>“Yes, he is. But in the end, it’s not embarrassing thing, under or upperclassmen. If someone can help you with something, it’s a lot better to go to them then it is to later be upset you didn’t. Everyone here is welcoming, I’m sure if you have something to ask, anyone would be helpful. And between you and me” he leaned down slightly, “even Tanaka, while trying to come off as intimidating, is way softer than he admits. Though that’s not really a secret. Everybody knows. But don’t worry about him. Each person is good at different things. Go to the person who you think can be helpful to you. Anyway, I need to go now. See you tomorrow.”</p><p>With a quick bye to everyone else in the gym, he left.</p><p>“Ask them?”</p><p>Taiki mumbled to himself. It was a lot easier said than done. What if they found him annoying? Or he made them uncomfortable? Or they were not as nice as he was told?</p><p>“Alright, everyone, nice work today. Be here tomorrow morning, yeah?"</p><p>How long had he stood around for? Now everyone was going to get changed. This was moving oddly fast for him.</p><p>The club room was large enough for everyone, and it wasn’t in bad condition. But stuffing a bunch of teenagers in anywhere was never going to end with them not being relieved when they manage to leave.</p><p>In the rush to leave, he barely noticed the older boy he was thinking of walk past him. The sudden movement was also why he surprised himself when he called out.</p><p>“Yamaguchi-san!”</p><p>“Huh?” Okay, he had said it loud enough then. There were only like 3 other people in the room left, already hurrying out and not paying them any attention. “Yes, what is it?”</p><p>“Well, uh...can I talk to you quickly, please?”</p><p>Though he did look surprised, he simply smiled.</p><p>“Sure. Tsukki,” he turned to him, “I’ll catch up, okay?”</p><p>With a short single nod, he left just the 2 of them in there.</p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p>
<hr/><p>It had not been too long since he was last in his bedroom, but even just feeling the mattress without the slight dip that had formed over the years of him using it was disorientating. A reminder that it had been just long enough for things to really change, no matter how small. The team was much bigger than the previous few years, even if 7 new members still wasn’t as many as more well known schools got a year. Karasuno was no longer flightless or without wings, but they were still an unexpected qualifier the previous term. People who had already planned to join Karasuno before nationals probably mostly had no intentions of taking up volleyball, especially if they already played another sport.</p><p>But of the 7....well, there were some interesting ones this year too.</p><p>Sitting up from his splayed position on the bed, he called a contact who he knew would probably have some questions since the last time they talked.</p><p>It rang a few times before being picked up.</p><p>“Suga?”</p><p>“Hey Daichi. How’s studying going?”</p><p>“It’s fine. But I got the texts you sent me, so the bigger question is are you really at Karasuno right now?” His tone held the same firmness as it always did but the exasperation in his voice was small enough to only be noticeable to people who had really known him a long time.</p><p>“Nope. I’m home right now. The matches didn’t run this long, you know.”</p><p>“You really shouldn’t worry about them so much. They’ll be fine.”</p><p>It may have been slightly hypocritical to be fair. He was already in half a mind to go there and cheer them on through the interhighs, any work be damned. But he couldn’t exactly just say that. It’d sound like he has no faith in the team to make it further. Which, he guiltily admits to himself, does make him nervous, but it’s up to them now.</p><p>“I know, I know. But I would have had to come back to see my parents at some point anyway, and I wanted to see the new first years! It’s really funny imagining any of our 4 as upperclassmen.”</p><p>“...how are they?” By this point, his voice had lost any harshness and softened.</p><p>“There’s 3 more than last year. Nobody seems to be a genius like Kageyama or Nishinoya, but they’re practically not human so it’s not surprising.” He added casually, laying back down facing the ceiling with a slight smirk, though he was alone so that didn’t really matter. “Everyone was being swapped in and out for practice during the matches, so I could see them all working. There does seem to be a rather skilled receiver on the team. Careful, or he may just replace you.”</p><p>“Suga, we’re not in high school anymore. It’s not as if he could take my place.”</p><p>“Yeah, I know. He actually isn’t that similar. His saves were way better than his attacking level. I saw he wasn’t really moving like a volleyball player, so I asked what sport he played before. Turns out, he was a goalkeeper in handball until he was 13.”</p><p>“That does explain fast reflexes.”</p><p>“Yes, I think he’s more fitted as a future libero than a wing spiker.”</p><p>Daichi laughed lightly at that comment. “Poor kid. He’ll have to put up with Nishinoya trying to train him.”</p><p>“I still remember him trying to explain things to Hinata.”</p><p>That’s undeniable. Nishinoya Yu; genius libero, motivating moodmaker, someone with a constant desire to get even better, and of course, terrible instructor. Once he settles down it’s not as bad, but trying to get him to realise not everyone can follow his movements and explanations is a challenge in itself.</p><p>“Speaking of, how are the others? The 2nd and 3rd years.”</p><p>“Happy to report, their motivation hasn’t dropped much. Though I think I saw Noya and Tanaka look round me after our greeting to see if Shimizu was there.”</p><p>“Of course they did.”</p><p>Suga paused for a second, wondering what the best way to explain things was. It would have been easy for him to get lost in the conversation and discuss the team in detail, because no matter how much faith he had in them, he did miss them, logics be damned. But that wouldn’t help. He had some things to do that night as well, so relatively short is probably better. The most intriguing is most important.</p><p>“But Yamaguchi is going to have an interesting year it seems.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“There was a rookie staring at him through the entirety of the games. He then attempted what I think must have been a jump float serve. Hard to tell, it was incredibly rough. But definitely a little practiced. I have a feeling Yamaguchi got himself a fan boy.”</p><p>“Why do you sound so proud?”</p><p>“Come on, Daichi. Of course I think it’s nice. He was the exact same way when he was learning. Though...I’m a little worried too. He’s not even been doing these serves a year himself.”</p><p>“Don’t worry. Yamaguchi is smart. I’m sure he knows what to do.”</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Yamaguchi had no idea what to do.</p><p>It was one thing being the one in need and searching out extra training, it was completely different being on the other end of the discussion. He needed to remember to thank Shimada even more the next time he saw him for even agreeing to teach him. It couldn’t have been calming even to him, but to Yamaguchi, practically a novice, it felt like the air had gotten thinner in the room.</p><p>There was now a 15 year old boy, switching between nervously avoiding his eyes and flicking back to them with a pleading look, asking him to teach him a serve he only learned about a year ago. It was mildly terrifying.</p><p>“Well...I could introduce you to the person who taught me it?” He offered weakly.</p><p>Truth was, he didn’t want to bother Shimada with another student. But he also knew he was a great teacher and person, so it probably wouldn’t be so bad.</p><p>However, Taiki looked completely downtrodden at that, responding with a weak 'okay' and a smile following, too unstable to be real.</p><p>“Sorry. I thought you’d like that.”</p><p>“Take the hint, Yamaguchi.” Tadashi barely avoided gasping as he twisted around to face the clubroom's open door where Kei was standing in boredom. “He wants you to teach him.”</p><p>“Tsukki, you’re still here?”</p><p>He shrugged. “I’m used to waiting for you.”</p><p>“Well, um, could you wait a little further from the door?”</p><p>There wasn’t even a reply as he casually walked away, leaving 2 somewhat embarrassed teenagers to continue talking things out. Yamaguchi met his eyes with a smile that was as genuine as he could make it, and laughed under his breath shakily.</p><p>“Sorry. I just don’t know why you’d want me. I still make a lot of mistakes.”</p><p>“So does Kageyama-san. He messes up serves too sometimes. And everyone is still saying he’s an incredible player.”</p><p>“Well...yeah, I guess he does make mistakes. But our skill levels are still very far apart.”</p><p>“But you’re great at serving. I’ve seen you in tournaments.”</p><p>The sudden knowledge that this is all coming from someone who actually knows how he serves, has seen it, is so overwhelming to Yamaguchi. Of course, logically he knew that. Knew that the reason he’s asking is because he’s seen him but the confirmation was still shocking to him. It reaffirmed the idea that he came in with expectations, that maybe he couldn’t fulfil.</p><p>“I didn’t really do much at nationals because of my own skill, though. Everyone helped a lot.”</p><p>“Not at nationals.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>A blush covered his cheeks as he looked away again. Guilt was an oddly specific look on a person, and it made him a bit curious, admittedly.</p><p>“My entire family went to Karasuno, so I knew I would too. But I'm the only person who was interested in volleyball and it wasn’t exactly a powerful school for most of the time I knew I’d be coming here. But because I was starting this year, I wanted to see as many games you guys played as I could last term. I even snuck out of school at one point to see some of your matches. My mum was very angry. But I saw your first match against Aoba Johsai.”</p><p>“Oh. That.”</p><p>Yamaguchi remembered that clearly, and if guilt was so easy for him to read, he hoped Taiki didn’t have the same knack for it. It was still vivid, the ball dropping because he messed up, more specifically because he messed up in a position where he was truly alone and had no one to save him if he made a mistake. It didn’t matter how much he thought about it, it still made him angry at himself.</p><p>“But...that match wasn’t a good one for me.”</p><p>Taiki shook his head. “No. Everyone around was feeling bad for you and saying things.” He seemed to notice his sour look as he rushed to correct himself. “Sorry! I really didn’t mention that to upset you! But after that I got excited to come here! And I knew I’d need to see your next match against them if you had one. So, the next time, I went to see Karasuno play and you got to go up and serve again and even though you lost the set in the end, even after the game everyone remembered you. It was amazing!”</p><p>The previous tension in the room had melted away and now swapped for a completely different kind of nearly self deprecating awkwardness. An odd mix of pride and wanting to deny everything blooming in his chest.</p><p>“I always struggled to work in a team. I could never get the timing down or anything. It made me nervous every time I went to play. I still want to get better, but until I can, the only time I don’t have to worry about other people is when I’m serving. But my serves were always weak and not good enough to be used as an attack at all, usually I was even lucky if it went over the net if I attempted a none basic one. But I saw what happened at first with you, and then how you could score points later with just that one technique, and I really wanted to do that! I tried practicing but videos can only teach you so much. I wanted to learn how you did it. I want to be able to score on my own. So please teach me, Yamaguchi-senpai.”</p><p>The expectant, shining eyes staring at him were suddenly a reminder of what the excitement to play felt like, but they scared him. Unlike other people, he didn’t really think it overly weird when shorter players played volleyball. He was rather small as a child himself, too. Even if that didn’t remain true. But even if it was only a few inches, in that moment he couldn’t not notice the 10 cm difference between them. Everyone had grown in the past year, and the acknowledgement of having to look down like that made him aware how he wasn’t one of the youngest anymore. There was now someone wanting to learn from him, hoping to be taught something. He couldn’t handle that. What if he couldn’t help?</p><p>But it’s also not as if simply turning down the request was an option. He definitely wasn’t going to hurt him.</p><p>“Well, I can try. But I’m really not a teacher. Maybe leave it a day and see if you still want my help, or I can go to who taught me as I said earlier?”</p><p>Taiki nodded and Yamaguchi gave a tentative smile before grabbing his bag and leaving the clubroom. It was hard not to feel guilty, but there was honestly no way to avoid that. If he outright offered to help him and failed, acting like a teacher when he wasn’t, he’d feel bad about that. If it went to other way and he refused, he’d feel bad again. And frankly, he couldn’t imagine a situation in which he wouldn’t fail. So running away seemed a bit cowardly, but the best option, especially as Tsukishima was still there waiting, looking about as interested in whatever he was doing as if he was literally watching paint dry.</p>
<hr/><p>It was hot. Too hot to be playing sports in a stuffy gym with around 20 people. Nevertheless, practice went on, just with Yachi looking about as exhausted even by the end of just the warmups as the players, having been sprinting around everyone with water bottles.</p><p>“Yachi-san,” one of the first years asked in worry, “have you drank some as well?”</p><p>“Oh, no. I was just getting some for all of you!”</p><p>“He’s right though.” Ukai said, ready to say something to everyone just as he caught onto the conversation. “Even if you aren’t playing, remember to drink something, okay?”</p><p>“Yes sir!”</p><p>“Okay, everyone. Since we still have Sugawara with us for now, we’ll be playing games today as well. It’s the best opportunity we have at the moment for each side in practice matches to work with an experienced setter. Go ahead and work on techniques for another 10 minutes or so while you’re warmed up, and then we’ll arrange teams.”</p><p>Most of them instantly got up and went over to do whatever they felt like. With only 1 setter on the team, and 15 more players, spiking practice tended to take longer lately than last year, so almost everyone who wasn’t already doing so, slowly stopped crowding Kageyama and went to the backlines to serve or step in position to receive them, with a select few attempting tosses themselves. Of course, Suga was a strong setter to help them too, but unlike everyone else, he didn’t jump up at the opportunity to work and watched out around the teenagers.</p><p>Well, it was less of him watching everyone, and more his eyes scanning a certain young boy who, even in pure training, looked almost scared to be holding the ball, as if it would suddenly explode as soon as he made his serve toss. Eyes were yet again trained on Yamaguchi who had a slight blush caused by something other than the heat and exercise on his cheek. He was no longer too nervous in matches, but this was different. He had made the effort, whether subconscious or not, to stand at the exact opposite end of the court from his admirer, and yet the eyes staring holes in his skull were not missed by him as he almost didn’t get the serve over the net.</p><p>Looking between them, at the very least, gave Suga an idea, as he approached the blond currently taking advantage of the 50 water bottles their manager had brought in.</p><p>“Tsukishima, hey, can you help me with something?”</p><p>He placed the water down and frowned. “What with?”</p><p>Yamaguchi wasn’t trying to avoid him. The last thing he wanted was to upset someone who just wanted his help, but...it was hard not being nervous when you know someone is expecting something of you. He felt completely pathetic, but it was hard to help.</p><p>“Hey, Yamaguchi! I want to practice my serves, could you do them with me?”</p><p>“Huh?” He hadn’t even noticed he had gone into a mild stupor until Suga walked up to him and called out to him with a smile. “Oh, sure.”</p><p>“Great, thanks!” It really didn’t matter how he was no longer really on the team, his attitude always managed to encourage everyone. “Your jump floaters are great. I still haven’t really tried with them, but I can always do a standing one.”</p><p>“You are more consistent than me. I still miss a lot.”</p><p>“Hey, higher risk serves mean higher rewards. Aren’t risks what Karasuno is about?”</p><p>Yamaguchi smiled. He was actually kind of proud of everything too. His blocking had holes for sure, receiving still needed work, and his spiking was not exactly bad but certainly nothing spectacular, but his serves were more refined. He had worked so hard on them, even mistakes pressed on him less and less. As long as he did it when called the best he could, it was more frustration at the mistake as opposed to self loathing. But it didn’t mean losing a set where he made mistakes, where he could have been the reason for the loss, ever felt any better simply because he tried hard.</p><p>The two of them practiced serving a couple of times each, and while yes, it was only a practice, the quality of them did make each of them kind of proud. It was especially hard to properly aim with float serves considering they swerve, but the power put into them was well handled. It took a minute or so before Suga paused and looked across the gym.</p><p>“Everyone is practicing different things, there’s not enough space in the hall. Hold on a second, Yamaguchi.”</p><p>The warning was barely necessary considering he left so fast it still surprised him, as he strode over to another wall which made Tadashi's heart pick up a bit once he realised where he was heading.</p><p>The young brunet was still adamantly if a bit nervously practicing his serves when he saw Suga walking over to him. So far, only one made it over the net, by sheer luck, and he was getting more and more frustrated by the second. It wouldn’t have been surprising if there were nail marks on the ball by the end of the class.</p><p>“Excuse me?”</p><p>It hadn’t really registered he was the one being talked to until a few moments later.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>His smile somehow helped ease his awkwardness a little. “Fukao-san. You’re practicing a jump floater, right?”</p><p>That comment made him look a bit downcast, loosening his grip on the ball in his palm. The noise in the gym almost rendered his sentences mute, a far contrast to quite a few of his seniors who could probably explode something with their vocal chords on a good day.</p><p>“Yeah. It’s not going well.”</p><p>Sure, he may have come here with a purpose in mind, but seeing the boy look so sad almost made him abandon it in favour of simply comforting him. But that would not do in the long run. It wasn’t like he could help out most of the time.</p><p>“You’re just practicing, it’s okay. But everyone around you is serving, and no one is doing the same one you are. That could be getting in your way.” He smiled. “Would you like to come over to us? We’re both doing float serves, it might be less distracting.”</p><p>After a quick gesture towards that direction, Taiki bit his lips and nodded. He had started to grip the ball tighter again, but this time it seemed less out of frustration than before. Suga led the two of them over to where Yamaguchi was awkwardly watching. He didn’t make an effort to explain himself, simply grinning his way and grabbing a volleyball himself.</p><p>“Would you like to go first?”</p><p>Tsukishima checked the time and held back a sigh. They only had a couple minutes left now. What was even the point of this? Why had he agreed to it?</p><p>Nevertheless, he had.</p><p>So, with a quick check to make sure they were indeed all together and practicing, he smoothly made his way to the trio. He hadn’t managed to memorise all his underclassmen'a names yet, so he wasn’t even going to try and refer to him by name if he needed to talk to them, but hopefully that would be avoided. At that moment, he had just made another serve that hit the tape and failed to get over to the opposing side. It didn’t slip past his attention that the only person who didn’t look uncomfortable in one way or another was Sugawara.</p><p>“That was the 2nd time I missed it with you here.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, you said you’ve made it a few times before, right?”</p><p>“By accident.”</p><p>“It’s not an accident if you get it right.</p><p>“Excuse me, Sugawara-san.” Tsukishima decided to cut them off as opposed to standing around pointlessly. “Can you toss some balls for me? I need to practice my spikes.”</p><p>He turned his head to look at him, and his expression practically shone with a barely contained smirk. “Sure. You 2, just keep practicing, okay?”</p><p>Tadashi's eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t respond as the pair walked away. It took a moment for him to properly realise what was going on enough to turn back around to his underclassmen holding a ball and watching him expectantly.</p><p>“Why did you need me?” Tsukishima asked. “You could have excused yourself.”</p><p>“Yes, but it wasn’t exactly subtle. Yamaguchi trusts you, I knew if you asked, there’d be little chance he’d try and stop me from leaving. He’s smart, but I wanted to leave a little chance that he might not realise what I’m doing, otherwise he’d panic.”</p><p>2 years age difference was nowhere near enough to cover up the height difference between them, but despite how clearly at an advantage he was physically, Tsukishima couldn’t help being a little disturbed by his grin.</p><p>“That’s a bit devious.”</p><p>“Thank you.” The smile slipping off his face, he sighed and turned his head back round to look at the students he left behind. “He is worried about teaching, but he does want to help. I knew he wouldn’t want to be rude and just run away if I left them alone, but I hope he works things out soon.”</p><p>The conversation they were having got lost in the noise of the gym, just a couple more sounds among the bounces of the balls and the shouts of the players. It was hard to tell if either of them was even saying anything. But the line of both their shoulders were too tight to be considered anywhere close to relaxed.</p><p>Tsukishima didn’t want much to do with this situation, but it was hard to deny that seeing him stressed was irritating him. It wasn’t like it was his job to keep him calm, but it wouldn’t hurt to not worry that he’s going to have a heart attack as a teenager.</p><p>“He’ll figure it out.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Slowly, his smile returned, and was aimed at boy next to him. “What about you? I’m sure people are clambering to ask you for help with blocking?”</p><p>“Not really.” Tsukishima said, but turned away.</p><p>Truthfully, he had also seen people watching him with interest. Unlike Yamaguchi who at least made an effort to talk to people even if he was worried though, he just ignored everyone.</p><p>“Mm.” Before the 2nd year could even ask what that meant, Suga had already stepped over to a few people to their right, who were passing the volleyball between each of them. “Hey, you’re middle blockers, right?” He had already recognised them from the previous day, so it was more a segway to conversation than an actual question.</p><p>“Huh? Oh sorry. Well, 2 of us are.”</p><p>“Great. Ask Tsukishima over here for help one day, he’d love to show you some things.”</p><p>Tsukishima blinked, staring in a weird mix of awe and disbelief. Awed at the fact he had seriously no shame, but also <em>what the hell?</em></p><p>His question was answered as a hand slapped his shoulder and tugged him just slightly down. His head height was still above his senior's but it allowed for him to speak easier it seemed.</p><p>“Some people like Yamaguchi need help to push them to take the final leap. Others, like you, need to be shoved right off the cliff. Good luck.”</p><p>How much he regretted offering to help now was his last thought as Ukai called everyone to gather round again and they started forming teams.</p><p>Practice was a shambles. Not quite as messy as last year, when Hinata and Kageyama joined and almost got expelled before the year even really started, but nobody was sure what to do. The new first years were varied a lot in skill and positions, they got the biggest influx of players for multiple years, and when just the libero is coming on and off the court it’s a lot easier to deal with then 17 people randomly swapping in and out.</p><p>In the end, one team consisted of Yamaguchi, Hinata, Kageyama, Ennoshita, Tsukishima, and 4 of the first years including Fukao, while the other was Tanaka, Narita, Nishinoya, Kinoshita, Suga, and the other 3 first years. Arranging them was a pain in itself, but in the end, the better receivers including Nishinoya were on 1 team, but the best player in the entire school was on the other. With an odd number of students, it was hard to go much better considering both sides would preferably require a setter, so excluding Suga was hardly an option.</p><p>After a bit of a kerfuffle, they managed to set up a rotational arrangement. One person came off every time, and the ones off the court were to watch the backlines for any outs as well as help Ukai watch the sidelines. It took another 10 minutes, but finally, they were ready to start.</p><p>This was the first time that Suga was actually able to properly watch everyone. Now that he had learned everyone’s names, positions, and everything else he needed to know, he could focus purely on the gameplay with no other factors distracting him. It was an odd feeling, being there but knowing he wasn’t really part of the team anymore. It wasn’t exactly nostalgic or painful, just a somewhat wistful awareness of the fact. He had grown up, and so had everyone else. Optimism was not a new thing for him, but occasionally he could let his mind wonder into more saddened territories, though his thoughts hardly ever stayed there for long.</p><p>How was everyone doing, anyway? The prior day, things had been overwhelming in a way, being back there after months, but with new people, new starting players, underclassmen looking to him as if they were almost expecting to just not see him again. Looking around could probably tell him a lot.</p><p>Ennoshita seemed to manage everyone about as well as Daichi had, though he looked like he was trying hard not just slap a few of them across the head whenever they got too rowdy, which was a little entertaining as it seemed that some of them had caught on already and were just messing with him. Suga felt a little bad, but at the same time, he couldn’t exactly talk, as he’d probably be doing somewhat similar things, just maybe a little less obviously.</p><p>Narita was always a relatively stable player. Not outstanding in any particular area, but it made him smile to see all the second years, or, third years he supposed, giving everything their all. Kinoshita, much like Yamaguchi, was also improving his serving and even in the short space of time that he hadn’t been there, both of them had gained more confidence it.</p><p>Nishinoya and Tanaka were…pretty much the same, which simply made him laugh. Their egos got a minor boost with their 3rd year statuses, but other than that, their abilities were already high level anyway.</p><p>As for the younger groups…well…</p><p>“Hinata, what the hell are you doing, you dumbass?”</p><p>“Hey, you can make mistakes too, you know! That toss was too high!”</p><p>“I’ve seen you jump higher than that before!”</p><p>“His legs probably got tired. They’re only little, you know.”</p><p>“Shut up Tsukishima.”</p><p>…yeah, not much has changed. Had he still been vice captain, he’d have probably just guided everyone away from each other, but admittedly, not having the responsibility anymore, he couldn’t help bit smile through their arguing a little. It held a lot less hurt than the start of last year, anyway, so they were probably fine.</p><p>Although, he had also been watching the play, even prior to when Hinata somehow managed to graze the ball in a way that it landed behind the attacking line instead of the other side of the net. From what he could tell, Hinata was correct in who made the mistake this time, but it was less to do with the height of the ball being aimed incorrectly, and more due to the angle of the toss being from behind, meaning Kageyama didn’t have a clear view of where to toss to. Usually he would be pretty good at spotting his own mistakes, but Suga couldn’t blame him for not realising it that time. If it had been him, he wouldn’t have even attempting setting and just attempted to return the ball. But he had realised quite a while ago that he definitely wasn’t Kageyama.</p><p>“Sugawara, we’re rotating. You’re in.”</p><p>“What?” Huh, he must have zoned out a little. “Yes, coach."</p><p>Yamaguchi was still unused to playing as a position outside of serving. It’s not that he slacked on his blocking or receiving training or anything of the sort, but it was still not exactly the type of play he would have made as a pinch server. Back row players didn’t block, and with Karasuno having had far better receivers on the team than him, he didn’t get to do that in official games too much either. So despite his apprehensions a while back, he had started to realise just how much more relaxed he felt holding the ball. The only person who did that in a game was the person serving in that rotation. It was an odd thing to realise, but it lit a kind of fire in him whenever he got the chance to show off what he had been practicing, serving or otherwise.</p><p>Unfortunately, it also made his mistakes stick in his head and repeat over and over all the more. There was always a fight between him thinking “everyone screws up, and nobody will judge me based on the worst serve I made that day” to “I barely ever get to go in during games, even if I mess up once I could have cost myself my only chance and gave the opposing team a point that could possibly lose the game for us.”</p><p>Thankfully, he managed to get through his rotation with very few mistakes from his part, which equally pleased him, and made it frustrating when he had to go off the court again. Every time he stopped moving, it made the heat feel more present. No more breeze that came with moving around the court, just his heart pumping blood so hard he could hear it.</p><p>The next rally was won by a score from Tanaka, who was about to celebrate before Ennoshita gave him a firm glare form the other side of the net. He didn’t have the same impact as Sawamura, but rather his stare made you feel kind of ashamed, which was rather useful with the rambunctious spiker. Yamaguchi smiled at the scene as another rotation removed somebody off the court once again.</p><p>He hadn’t even realised just how many rotations they played for until he heard his name being called by someone.</p><p>“Yamaguchi.” Suga said in a voice, quiet enough that he barely heard it.</p><p>They’ve went full circle again with the substitutions? Although, this is the first time they were so close together, due to the uneven number of people between the 2 teams meaning positions would constantly change for everyone. At that point, it placed Yamaguchi in the top right corner of the court to watch the backline, with Suga next to the net on the same side, waving his hand for him to come closer.</p><p>A little thrown off, Tadashi glanced around the gym. The players were all still working out the swapping, and getting the ball to Narita for serving. Confused but curious as to what was going on, he went over to him.</p><p>“Is something wrong?”</p><p>“No, no, it’s all fine. I just wanted to ask you something.”</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>“How much attention do you pay to everyone playing when you are off the court?”</p><p>That wasn’t a question he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t anywhere near odd enough to raise alarms in him, so his response was pretty casual. He paid attention, of course he did. He knew his intelligence, while not lacking necessarily, was not the best of the team in regards to volleyball, but how else was he to learn or help anyone else in it if he didn’t focus.</p><p>“Have you been watching Fukao?”</p><p>That got a reaction out of him, which made him glad that his face was already blushed from exercise so that it wasn’t obvious.</p><p>“Umm…I watch everyone. I’m…I’m just not really sure what to say to him.” He mumbled.</p><p>Suga didn’t turn to look at him, instead paying attention to everyone getting back in position for the next rally.</p><p>“If your side wins this point, it’s his turn to serve next. Watch him. From what I can tell, his overall technique isn’t horrible and the ball sometimes does float for a second or so before falling. A jump floater doesn’t need too much power to be effective, so that’s not the reason for his serves failing. Look at him and figure out what is.”</p><p>Yamaguchi was a little unsure how to reply to that. It didn’t sound like he was making a simple guess at something being visible enough to notice.</p><p>“Senpai, do you already know-“</p><p>“Yamaguchi, what are you doing over there? Watch the endlines.”</p><p>“Sorry, sir.” Suga called out with a smile and a wave. “It’s my fault that he’s here.” Before Yamaguchi could leave, he turned to him and leaned in to whisper. “You’ll see it if you concentrate. Just watch, okay?” He finished and gentle pushed him back towards the corner of the court.</p><p>With the blow of the whistle, the game started up again. All the first years were relatively worn out by this point, not having had the same training the older students did, but nobody seemed unmotivated. as the fight for the point progressed, Yamaguchi found himself following one player on the court more than any other. Usually for substitutions like this, the person swapped out would be the server. But Ukai wanted everyone to be able to serve with their heart rate already up like it would be in a regular game. Which was a smart call, but it also meant that Yamaguchi was now being distracted by the same student he was guiltily avoiding the whole time he was there.</p><p>In the end, the rally did go to his team, meaning with another 2 rotations, he’d back on the court.  And it also meant he had no real choice but to watch him serve like Sugawara had said.</p><p>What was he supposed to watch for? His nails dug into the ball as he settled some steps off the service line, briefly marking crescent shapes on the surface before relaxing his hands as much as he knew how to. This was easily something he could understand, though, and while tension could impact gameplay, there’s usually something a little more technical of a solution to failed attempts.</p><p>What was it?</p><p>The whistle blew, and unlike how Yamaguchi used to, the boy didn’t panic anymore than he already was already feeling a little anxious.</p><p>That’s good.</p><p>Managing to keep your worries internal and avoid it screwing up your shot was important.</p><p>So it wasn’t that.</p><p>A few seconds and a couple deep breaths, he started making his way forward, tossing the ball up in the air. The run up was a little shorter than he’d have expected, but it wasn’t exactly like he needed too much space anyway. The ball soared through the air, him jumping after it, and-</p><p>…oh. That’s it, then.</p><p>The point of impact cut off the spin on the ball well as it propelled towards the net.</p><p>Towards, being the key word, as opposed to over.<br/>
It was moving fast, but to anyone watching, it was obvious the height was not in it at all and, before any chance for him to move out of the way…</p><p>“Ow!”</p><p>Well, it was somewhat fitting that the person who has managed to serve a ball into the back of somebody’s head before would be the one onto whom this one dropped.</p><p>“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry Hinata-senpai!”</p><p>Hinata was cradling the top of his head where the faulty serve landed, as he turned round to the boy, who looked about ready to burst into tears. He was less scared and more apologetic towards him than Shouyou was towards Kageyama, but it didn’t help that half the gym started laughing.</p><p>Of course, everyone who had been there the previous year knew he’d be fine. If he could take full power spikes to the face, there’s no chance that a float serve would hurt him. But to the first year, it was almost making him cry, thinking he hurt somebody.</p><p>“Hinata, have you been giving him serving lessons?” Tsukishima said snidely.</p><p>“At least now it happened to you once too.”</p><p>Hinata, forgetting briefly about the pain in his head, turned to Kageyama with something close to a growl.</p><p>“Says the person who’s hit me in the face a bunch with his tosses before!”</p><p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!” Taiki quickly cut in.</p><p>Seemingly remembering the situation, the ginger turned back around to the increasingly concerned first year. It didn’t take long before he flashed him a smile.</p><p>“It’s okay, you don’t need to say sorry. If that went over, that would have scored for sure.”</p><p>Taiki stared, unsure as to how to respond. “…but it didn’t.”</p><p>“That’s okay! Just try again.”</p><p>“Dumbass, he can’t try again, we have to rotate when we serve again.”</p><p>“I-I know that! I was meaning later!”</p><p>“Alright, that’s enough.” Ennoshita said, walking over to them. “Hinata, are you sure you’re okay?” At the response of an affirmative nod, he turned to Fukao with a soft smile. “Don’t worry, it’s why we have practice games, to get better.”</p><p>With another apologetic glance towards Hinata, met only by the back of his head as he already turned away, he nodded, disappointed but understanding.</p><p>Everyone got back into their positions, the other first year on the court on their side giving him a pat on the back as he made his way to where he was meant to be, and Tsukishima slowly reigning in his smirk.</p><p>Nobody noticed the serious look on Tadashi’s face. Usually he’d have joined in at least with a smile once having assessed nobody was injured, but he didn’t find anything funny in this situation. He only found the answer he had been looking for.</p><p>Looking over to where Sugawara had been standing before only gave him an empty space as the setter had already been moved back onto the court. But he remembered what he was told.</p><p>Watch him and you’ll see.</p><p>If he was paying attention, it was quite simple, at least for someone who knows how the serve works. He hadn’t noticed, because he had been avoiding concentrating on him, as bad as he felt about it. But now, having looked, he knew what he meant.</p><p>His jump was higher than his, by about a quarter foot. It wasn’t too much. less than 10 centimetres, but for serving, it effected everything, from the angle a hand hit the ball, to timing necessary for the toss.</p><p>And as far as he could see, that was the issue.<br/>
The toss was perfect for a float serve, but he forgot to take into account his jump, or at least he didn’t do it properly.</p><p>His serve toss was consistently too low, because it’s a lot harder to adjust it for a jump serve of any kind than a standing one where you can wait to hit it at the right moment. When jumping, everything needs to line up with the timing.</p><p>He probably wasn’t even noticing it, so focused on simple getting the ball to stop spinning. How had he not seen it earlier?</p><p>“Good work today everyone. Go and cool down, do your stretches, pass a ball between you if you want, nothing strenuous.” Ukai said at the end of practice. “And be sure to thank Sugawara for joining us these past couple days.”</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry about that. It was nice coming back here.”</p><p>After all, there was a reason he never left the club even when he was benched. Sure, he wasn’t a prodigy or naturally as athletic as others on the team were, but it mattered to him. It’s the same with Daichi, though granted he was better than him, but it’s what convinced him that no matter how grown up he tried to act with coursework and everything, he would run back to volleyball at some point. He really needed to catch up to Asahi soon and see what was up with him, though.<br/>
Karasuno was always going to be in the past, though. However, things really had mostly stayed the same on the team, at least between last year’s rookies and second years.</p><p>Well</p><p>“Hinata, don’t do spikes as a cool down, you don’t want to over exert yourself.”</p><p>“Oh, right. Of course.”</p><p>There were a few things different.</p><p>It kind of made him proud how much Hinata had started to think about volleyball in a more round about way as opposed to just ‘more training equals better’. After last year, he had become a lot more serious about things like his actual wellbeing, which lifted a weight from Suga’s shoulder.</p><p>Tsukishima was a lot more likely to smile during a game that wasn’t a smirk, and Kageyama had never lost wanting this team to be the team he plays with and improves.</p><p>Then, there was Yamaguchi.</p><p>Probably the one Suga was equally most and least worried about in different ways. But when he looked over and saw who he was heading over to talk to, it eased a little of that concern from him.</p><p>“Fukao-san?”</p><p>The younger boy was stretching off when Yamaguchi approached him with a smile. It had been a long practice, there was no point in doing serves again right now. It would just result in injury, or being demotivated if he couldn’t get a serve correct in the time they had. But leaving this topic hanging just didn’t feel right either.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Have you ever tried just doing a standing float serve?”</p><p>“Well..yes, I did when I first started practicing.”</p><p>This was stupid. He was surely not fit to give advice. He ran away from having to give it, and he had run away before from having to take any he’d give to anybody else.</p><p>Yet, he also wasn’t a first year anymore. There were still many things he wished to learn, but there was also others now wishing to learn from him. Even more so in 3rd year, probably.</p><p>“Well, you see, I think you’re focusing on the technique of a jump floater too much.”</p><p>Even if he hadn’t spoken up, it was clear that he had no idea what he meant. Still, the small “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” was useful.</p><p>“Ummm…okay, basically, if you got used to getting the serve to kind of work standing, then maybe when you started jumping your aim was just to replicate that movement. But, well, there are a few more things to focus on during a jump serve.”</p><p>“Like what?”</p><p>“Things like timing, for example.” They didn’t have time right now to continue this. “How about-“ okay, this was fine “-I talk to you about this on Monday? It would be useful to have some more good servers on the team, so far only Kageyama’s is both strong and consistent enough to be weapon.”</p><p>It was a lot easier to say than he expected it. For some reason, he wasn’t worried over disappointing him anymore. Once he had proper advice to give about what to do, it somewhat melted away. It wasn’t an expectation of him anymore, as much as the reality of what he could do to help someone.</p><p>And by the look on their face, it was appreciated.</p>
<hr/><p>It was the final day Suga would be in practice with them. He was staying in Miyagi a little longer over the weekend, but it was the last time for that occasion that he would be at the school. There were a few things Yamaguchi wanted to ask him before he were to leave.</p><p>“Sugawara-san.”</p><p>“Ah, Yamaguchi, how’d it go with Fukao?”</p><p>Of course he was watching. He always did.</p><p>“His jump and toss didn’t line up properly. It meant he hit the ball when it was too low.”</p><p>“I see.”</p><p>“You already knew that.”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter, I wasn’t the one he was asking for advice.”</p><p>Sugawara had 3 types of smiles. One, an excited, celebratory one, two, a reassuring one, and three, one that indicated that you should probably run unless you want him to mess with you in some way, because he could absolutely obliterate anyone if he desired.</p><p>Thankfully to Yamaguchi, at that moment it was the second.</p><p>“How did you notice so easily?”</p><p>“Why?” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give an answer, just that he wanted to know what Tadashi was thinking.</p><p>“You always helped us out when we needed it. And I will probably have to do it more since I’m planning to keep being on the team, but I’m really not sure how.”</p><p>These are the moments where Suga was really glad to have had the pressure of vice captain on him. Though, Daichi didn’t exactly trust him all the time, admittedly he was a little…a lot more free spirited than strictly necessary, there was a reason that he was generally reliable.</p><p>“Yamaguchi, you spent the last year mostly on the sidelines. I spent most of my 3 years on the bench too. To love volleyball, you don’t only tend to love playing it, you’ll end up loving watching it. Especially when you are off the court, the only thing you can do is try and understand why the people on it are there. It’s not a special ability or anything, you just need to look.” It was probably not making much sense, but it was the best he had to offer. “I was never really fit to be captain of the team. I wasn’t ever going to be firm enough, or anything, I’d probably just laugh along with most of the things everyone does. But I was able to help with what I could. Though I think you’d fit both captain and vice roles.”</p><p>“What?!”</p><p>“You’re relaxed enough to be able to have fun with the people you’re teaching but I think you’d also manage to give some pretty sound advice and hold the team together when it comes down to it. Just don’t run away from it anymore, okay?”</p><p>They hadn’t helped much with packing up that day. Nobody bothered them about it, probably since Suga was kind of a scape goat since the team hadn’t seen him for a bit so few people would bother anyone talking to him to clean up, but it was still another responsibility they should have helped out in.</p><p>However, only one of them was a high school student still. And while still lacking a little confidence outside of games themselves, there wasn’t a reason to worry that he’d always run away from things.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed :) leave a comment if you wish!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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